I am hoping some of the breeders will weigh in on this...
My husband and I purchased a GSD from a reputable breeder after quite a bit of research and lurking around this site. I've seen very respectable comments regarding this breeder and breeding program here and elsewhere, and the 13 week old pup we brought home was amazing and everything we'd expected.
We had the pup for less than 72 hours.... within the first day, both my husband and my son began to exhibit signs of being allergic (my husband later admitted that he had felt the same symptoms when we had visited the breeder several weeks earlier, but at the time he thought he was coming down with a cold). My husband contacted a good friend of ours who works for a large local medical center - as a favor he did a quick skin test to be certain, and it was positive. We had no reason to believe he was allergic prior to this (we also had no reason to believe that he was allergic to Penicillin, as he'd taken it multiple times in his life, until the day he had a severe anaphylactic reaction to that and landed in the ER - no idea if the two are related!).
After a long and heart-wrenching discussion, we decided we could not keep the puppy and subject our son to a youth of allergies or allergy medication. I immediately contacted the breeder, with the end result being that I returned the pup to the breeder the following day.
I did not discuss nor request any type of refund upon returning the puppy as it was upsetting enough to begin with, however, I did contact the breeder afterword and ask if considerations for either a full or partial refund would be made given that we tried to do the right thing and return the puppy as quickly as possible.
I was told that a refund is not possible, and per the terms of the contract, which we were never asked to sign, we are not owed a refund. My husband and I are reasonable people and we understand that finding suitable homes for puppies is a time consuming process, however, it's difficult not to feel as if we were "taken" assuming the puppy was re-homed, especially if it happened quickly.
Do you feel we should pursue this further? I am NOT suggesting that I intend to take legal action in any way - I have simply not yet responded to the breeder's original response, and I'd like to know if other breeders would consider a refund under these circumstances.
Thank you in advance.
My husband and I purchased a GSD from a reputable breeder after quite a bit of research and lurking around this site. I've seen very respectable comments regarding this breeder and breeding program here and elsewhere, and the 13 week old pup we brought home was amazing and everything we'd expected.
We had the pup for less than 72 hours.... within the first day, both my husband and my son began to exhibit signs of being allergic (my husband later admitted that he had felt the same symptoms when we had visited the breeder several weeks earlier, but at the time he thought he was coming down with a cold). My husband contacted a good friend of ours who works for a large local medical center - as a favor he did a quick skin test to be certain, and it was positive. We had no reason to believe he was allergic prior to this (we also had no reason to believe that he was allergic to Penicillin, as he'd taken it multiple times in his life, until the day he had a severe anaphylactic reaction to that and landed in the ER - no idea if the two are related!).
After a long and heart-wrenching discussion, we decided we could not keep the puppy and subject our son to a youth of allergies or allergy medication. I immediately contacted the breeder, with the end result being that I returned the pup to the breeder the following day.
I did not discuss nor request any type of refund upon returning the puppy as it was upsetting enough to begin with, however, I did contact the breeder afterword and ask if considerations for either a full or partial refund would be made given that we tried to do the right thing and return the puppy as quickly as possible.
I was told that a refund is not possible, and per the terms of the contract, which we were never asked to sign, we are not owed a refund. My husband and I are reasonable people and we understand that finding suitable homes for puppies is a time consuming process, however, it's difficult not to feel as if we were "taken" assuming the puppy was re-homed, especially if it happened quickly.
Do you feel we should pursue this further? I am NOT suggesting that I intend to take legal action in any way - I have simply not yet responded to the breeder's original response, and I'd like to know if other breeders would consider a refund under these circumstances.
Thank you in advance.